


Broken Ground

by orphan_account



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: AU, Arthur Finds Out, Cannon au, F/M, M/M, Merthur - Freeform, POV Third Person, kinda slow relationship start, m/m - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-25
Updated: 2013-12-24
Packaged: 2018-01-06 00:21:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1100261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cannon until Sea. 1 Epi. 10. </p><p>It took Arthur frightfully long to realize he didn't actually know all that much about Merlin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Broken Ground

It took Arthur frightfully long to realize he didn't actually know all that much about Merlin.

His manservant wasn't by any means secretive, but, somehow, any knowledge of his past never really came up. Questions were smoothly deflected by crooked smiles and retorts that often turned the conversation to something else entirely. Come to think of it, Arthur couldn't even really say why Merlin had came to Camelot in the first place.

Not to imply he often knew these kinds of things about his manservants, but Merlin was different. Arthur _knew_ Merlin.

Or he'd thought he had. But the more he considered it, the more he questioned how well he actually knew Merlin at all.

And then Merlin's mother came telling of raiders back in Ealdor. She pleaded with Uther, but Arthur knew from the moment she walked in that his father would never risk a war over a small farming village, regardless of the consequences.

Merlin, however, had nothing so valuable to lose. ( _Except his life_ , some part of Arthur in the back of his mind whispered.)

"I'm going back to Ealdor," Merlin said, looking out to the north. He hadn't met Arthur's eyes solidly since they had arrived there, at the edges of the castle and staring out to the forest.

"Of course," Arthur said. And it was true. What else was Merlin to do?

They were both quiet for a moment. "Its been an honor serving you." Blue eyes clashed with his for the first time that day and Arthur could see the blatant honesty in Merlin’s face. He didn't appreciate it.

"You'll be coming back," he threw back. _You'd better._

Merlin shook his head slightly, just enough for it to catch Arthur's eye. "Well, she's my mother," he said, as if he needed to explain. "I’ve got to look after her before anyone else. You understand?"

For a split moment he wondered if anyone without a mother could really understand, but being a prince meant he knew exactly what sacrificing yourself for the good of others meant. "I'd do exactly the same."

He met Merlin’s eyes, trying to say what he couldn't bring himself to put in words. When he saw the beginnings of recognition, he continued.

"Well, you've been terrible. Really, I mean it. The worst servant I've ever had." Arthur grinned, though he didn't honestly feel like it. He felt hollow.

Merlin met Arthur’s grin with one of his own. "Thank you, Sire." He paused, but when he didn't get an answer, he began to walk away.

Words bubbled out of Arthur's throat before he could stop them. "Merlin-," he called out, hitching slightly on the last syllable as he caught himself from saying something reckless. "Good luck."

It took all Arthur's strength to watch him walk away, but he did.

 

* * *

 

Arthur drove himself mad that night, incapable of getting even an hour's worth of sleep. Merlin was going to get himself killed and there was little to nothing for him to do about it.

(It really shouldn’t matter if Merlin died, but it did. Any thought past that solid point was avoided at all costs.)

Arthur knew that Morgana and Gwen had stolen off with Merlin as he left, but Uther would be furious if he knew that his own son went as well. It was one thing for Morgana to go--she was his ward, and she did almost anything she wanted with Gwen beside her.

Arthur, on the other hand--he didn’t get what he wanted too terribly often.

Perhaps that’s why he found himself putting armour on at approximately 11am and setting off before anyone had the time to tell him it was an incredibly bad idea. (He rather thought he would’ve gone anyway.)

 

* * *

 

In the end, he didn’t find Merlin. Merlin found him. As Arthur rode through the forest, he began to hear the loud clanging footsteps of someone who had little to no idea how loud they actually were.

 _Definitely Merlin,_ he thought. He tied his horse to a tree and quickly dismounted. Looking through the trees, Arthur could see a tall, thin figure holding a sword in an awkward kind of grip. Grinning, Arthur snuck up behind Merlin as quiet as he could until the tip of his sword was pressed against his manservant’s back.

“I’d ask you for money,” the blond drawled, “but I know you don’t have any.”

“Arthur!” Merlin spun around like a top, grinning outright as he saw who was behind him. Arthur ducked hastily as a sword carelessly swung where his head had been moments before.

“Put the sword down, Merlin,” he snapped. “You look ridiculous.” Grabbing it, he strode off to where he could already imagine Merlin’s camp was. He heard Merlin’s loud footsteps echo behind him.

 

* * *

 

Arthur stared at the campfire, wondering if coming after Merlin had been a good idea at all. Uther would be furious.

Did he care what Uther thought? ( _Yes,_ some part of him murmured, _you do._ ) He had to focus on what his mission was now, though, because he certainly wasn’t turning around.

“How much further is it?” he asked Merlin, eyes to the fire still. He could feel Merlin’s eyes pierce the back of his neck, but he refused to look over.

“Er, maybe a few hours.” Merlin sounded oddly unsure for someone who had taken the road on foot before.

“How many men does Kanen have?”

“Erm, I'm not sure,” Merlin said. Was he sure of anything? “I think, from what my mother said, maybe as many as forty.”

Arthur began to wonder if he had, instead of saving Merlin’s life by coming along, doomed himself to the same fate. It wasn’t as sobering a thought as he had imagined it to be. Finally, he glanced over to Merlin, taking in the lines of worry in this face and the darker circles underneath his eyes. “You should get some rest. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.”

There were a few quiet moments where neither of them said anything.

“Thank you.” Merlin said starkly, and it stood out so heavily from the light of the fire that Arthur had to swallow his own breath just to keep from breaking the silence. “Erm, I know you didn't have to come.”

He really did, but Arthur wasn’t going to say that, so he began to get up, shaking his head as he did so. “Get some sleep.”

 

* * *

 

Will had been a surprise.

Arthur hadn’t expected to see that obvious affection in Merlin’s eyes directed at anyone that wasn’t himself. He hadn’t been prepared for the thought that he wasn’t a singular entity in Merlin’s life and he certainly hadn’t been prepared for the surge of hatred that flowed through him at Will’s callousness. How was he to deal with someone like that? How was he to get a man who was unwilling to sacrifice his own life to fight for it?

He didn’t have enough people to deal with what he was facing. He could only hope he was ready for whatever was heading his way. And he wasn’t completely sure he was, but he had to be, so he would be. For Merlin. For all of the people in Ealdor.

 

* * *

 

“Have you always slept on the floor?” he asked Merlin, as they lay on the floor of Hunith’s house alone in the night.

Merlin rolls over so that his eyes are meeting Arthur’s and he shrugs. “Yeah. The bed I’ve got in Camelot’s luxury by comparison.” He gives a small smile.

Arthur couldn’t imagine living like that. “Must’ve been hard,” he said.

“Mhmm. It’s like rock.” Merlin shifted as if to prove his point and Arthur huffed. He almost thought about letting it go, but he couldn’t.

“I didn’t mean the _ground._ I meant, for you. It must’ve been difficult.”

Merlin hummed again, softly. “Not really. I didn’t know any different. Life’s simple out here. You eat what you grow and everyone pitches in together. As long as you’ve got food on the table and a roof over your head, you’re happy.”

“Sounds nice,” Arthur said, rolling the words over his tongue. He really just couldn’t imagine a life so simple.

“You’d hate it,” Merlin said, smiling.

“No doubt. Why’d you leave?” The idea of an answer interested him more than he expected. He wanted to know something about Merlin’s past, and where better to ask it than in the place he’d grown up in?

“Things just… changed.”

Arthur couldn’t just let it go there. “How? Come on, stop pretending to be interesting. Tell me.”

Merlin seemed to not know what to say. “I just didn’t--” he sucked in a deep breath, rolling over to look at the ceiling. “Arthur, am I your friend?”

“--Merlin. What do you mean?”

“Are we friends? Am I just your servant? I mean, why are you here?”

Arthur frowned, not completely knowing how to answer that. “Merlin, with the life I live--well. I don’t get many friends. But, if I had any, it would be you.”

He heard a breath let out and a small laugh. “How endearing.”

Arthur didn’t speak for a few moments, but he wasn’t letting it go, in the end. He couldn’t. Not when he finally had a way in. “So what changed? Why did you leave?”

Merlin rolled to give him a very intense look. “I-- uh. I was different. It became a bit dangerous for me to stay here, so I left.”

“I thought the raids were a recent development,” Arthur stated, frowning.

“Uh, they are.” Merlin looked a bit nervous. “It was more to do with me, specifically. I was dangerous.”

“How?”

“I can’t-”

Arthur laughed, though, oddly, he didn’t exactly feel like laughing. “Merlin, you help me get dressed in the morning. I don’t think we honestly have room for secrets at this point.”

Merlin didn’t laugh, instead giving him this steady, thoughtful look. “You’d be pretty angry.”

“Give me a chance,” Arthur insisted, all pretences dropped.

Suddenly, in a flurry of limbs and movement, Merlin got up and began to go outside.

“Merlin, where are you going?” Arthur called out, following him as best as he could. He got no answer. He continued to follow as Merlin led him out into the woods, following a narrow path until they hit a small stream.   
  
Merlin knelt by the water, cupping some of it in his hands. “You know, Will was warning me about you earlier. Said I couldn’t trust you.”

Arthur frowned, but didn’t say anything. He had the feeling Merlin wasn’t done speaking.

He watched as the water, gleaming in the moonlight, swirled around in Merlin’s hands. “I just want you to know that I’m on your side,” Merlin continued slowly. “Your side specifically. Not Uther’s, not Morgana’s, not anyone but _you_ , Arthur.” Their eyes met solidly before Merlin dropped his down to the water in his hands.

It was rising into the air, an independant bubble of water floating up until it was between them, just staying there. After pausing in place for a second, it began to stretch and take shape into the dragon crest of Camelot. The dragon flew in a spinning circle before molding back into a ball and slowly falling right back into Merlin’s hands.

“I-- I’m magic,” he said. Strangely, there was no doubt in his eyes, no hesitance. He wasn’t nervous at all. All that was left was a complete and inexplicable trust. And, faced with that, Arthur was left with no idea of what he should do.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, so, thanks for reading. I'd love it if you'd comment whenever you get the chance. I'll probably post by next Monday. (Which would be 12/30/13)


End file.
